Geoscience Australia recently announced that in recognition of Earth Science Week it will host the Geologi Short Film Competition 2008. Australian secondary-school students are invited to participate by submitting a brief film dealing with natural hazards, underground resources, or subterranean geology. The Australian event is just one of many international examples inspired by Earth Science Week.

Last year, for example, Canadian children attended lectures by geoscientists at the Ontario Science Center. Young Earth Space Scientists held an event to discuss World Space Week and Earth Science Week at a Nigerian grammar school. French teens took part in a live, interactive videoconference hosted by local science centers during Earth Science Week. And Argentina’s Universidad Nacional de San Luis hosted a series of presentations about Earth Science Week and International Year of the Planet Earth.

If you would like to promote awareness of an Earth Science Week event outside the United States, please email info@earthsciweek.org.

AGI this week named Michelle Brand Buchanan the winner of the first annual Edward C. Roy, Jr. Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching. A dedicated teacher for the past decade, Buchanan currently teaches seventh-grade Life and Environmental Science and eighth-grade Earth, Space, and Environmental Sciences at Pineville Junior High School in Louisiana.

Since earning her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Texas in 1998, Buchanan has completed postgraduate science and education courses at four additional institutions and obtained National Board certification as a science teacher. She has served on the Louisiana Department of Education’s Curriculum Writing Team for eighth-grade Earth Science, managed services for people with disabilities at the National Science Teachers Association annual conference, acted as an education correspondent for the Antarctic Geologic Drilling Program, and held many other positions in the past decade.

Buchanan received the award Sunday in a ceremony at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists’ Annual Convention. AGI encourages leading Earth science educators to plan now to apply next year for this annual award. For details, see http://www.agiweb.org/education/awards/ed-roy/ online.

**************************** Make a ‘GeoConnection’ On Facebook ****************************

If you’re looking for a way to network with other geoscience students, professors, and professionals, then check out the AGI Geoscience Workforce Program’s new Facebook Group, called “GeoConnection.” GeoConnection members discuss career options, educational paths, and community issues with geoscientists at all levels. The site is kept fresh with new education and career data, links to videos, scholarship and internship listings, and other great resources.

An offering recently made available to GeoConnection members is “Geoscience Currents,” a new series of workforce and educational data snapshots focusing on hot topics in the geosciences. From scholarships to employment opportunities, the effect of retirements, and university enrollment trends, Geoscience Currents provides up-to-the-minute glimpses into what’s happening in the field. To subscribe for this free email series, go to http://www.agiweb.org/workforce and click “Register.”

Facebook is one of the Internet’s most popular social networking websites. To join GeoConnection, use an existing Facebook account or create one at https://www.facebook.com/r.php. After logging in, simply search in the Groups section for GeoConnection and click “Join this group.”

**************************** Become a Proud Sponsor Of Earth Science Week ****************************

Would your organization like to join longstanding Earth Science Week Sponsors such as the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, and the AAPG Foundation in supporting Earth Science Week? If so, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to this year’s campaign as a Program Sponsor.

Reaching millions of people each year, Earth Science Week is the geoscience community’s premier outreach campaign, promoting awareness of Earth science among audiences such as science educators, students, and professionals. Program Sponsors are recognized on Earth Science Week’s website, poster, kit, and other materials. To learn more, please visit http://www.earthsciweek.org/sponsor online.

**************************** The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of 44 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources and interaction with the environment. For contact information, please visit http://www.earthsciweek.org/contactus/index.html.